490 Shares in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) Purchased by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 490 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 10.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,624,159 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,782,651,000 after purchasing an additional 346,470 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 5.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,822 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $616,357,000 after purchasing an additional 62,041 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 1.2% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 801,152 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $371,126,000 after purchasing an additional 9,141 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Watsco by 2.0% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 582,500 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $286,520,000 after purchasing an additional 11,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Watsco by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 393,032 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $182,068,000 after acquiring an additional 6,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.71% of the company’s stock.

Watsco Stock Performance

WSO opened at $551.60 on Friday. Watsco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $373.33 and a fifty-two week high of $571.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $505.23 and its 200 day moving average is $487.40. The stock has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.63 and a beta of 0.88.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by ($0.51). Watsco had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Watsco, Inc. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 16th were issued a $2.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $10.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Watsco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSO has been the topic of several research reports. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Watsco in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Watsco from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watsco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $491.25.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.